Now that the presidential election campaigns are shifting into high gear, we can count on the press for partisan, inaccurate and illogical coverage. Time for someone to start calling them out, and I’ll do my part here in this blog in the next couple of months.
To be clear, I’m voting for no one for the office of President this year. (I voted for Sanders as a write-in in 2016,) I find Biden uninspiring, and I view Harris as an opportunistic phony. Though I appreciate Trump’s standing up to Xi Jinping, he’s proven to be just as self-centered, impetuous and immature as I predicted him to be four years ago, and as a progressive it’s unlike the GOP would come up with anyone I’d like very much.
I put in this disclaimer because my calling out the press will often concern something they’ve said that’s biased against Trump. But that’s because this is indeed where their bias typically exists. If I see incorrect or illogical statements made about Biden, I’ll call them out too.
So now NPR “fact checkers” say that the Trump/Pence claim that Biden called for defunding the police is incorrect. Biden just said that funds could be “redirected” from the police, they say. But that’s exactly what is meant by proponents of defunding the police; very few mean that to be shutting down the police, removing their funding entirely.
I tune in to NPR when I’m driving, and today I listened to part of their coverage of the GOP convention. One commentator addressed the topic of insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. The reporter noted that Trump has promised an executive order to require that, which she said “contradicts” the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Obamacare, which already has such a requirement. That’s just plain illogical. If Trump believes people with pre-existing conditions should be protected, which he has said, then it would be perfectly consistent for the Trump people to formulate an executive order to implement such protection, in place of the Obama policy they want to discontinue. (Note: I personally support Obamacare; see above disclaimer.)
In its convention coverage this evening, NPR also stated that comments by Trump and one of the speakers promising to “protect the suburbs” are anti-African American “dog whistles,” preying on suburbanites’ fears of the riots in Portland and other big cities. But the rioters are almost all white. The NPR reporter also said that the Trump campaign has miscalculated, as the suburbs now have many non-whites. This makes the absurd assumption that a nonwhite suburbanite doesn’t mind rioters as long as they are of the same color as him/her.
Upon Closer inspection 
It’s really easy, if it comes from the MSM it’s an absurd lie.
Norm, I don’t think you want to bill yourself as a fact-checker, the very title is an arrogant and sanctimonious claim, especially in today’s environments. The very worst offenders make the biggest fuss about fakes.
If you see a statement you want to discuss, fine, but really, the MSM is beneath contempt these days, and even refuting it is rolling in the mud with pigs.
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You’re right, of course, esp. re “rolling in the mud with pigs.” But “Fact Checking the Fact Checkers” has a better ring to it than, say, “Exposing the Fact Checkers.”
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My complaint is the assertion that there is little or no voter fraud. I know it does because it happened to us. For at least 15 years after we purchased our house, the former owner continued to vote using our address. I complained to everyone I could think of and even offered to show a copy of the deed. It was certainly correctly listed to us with the county assessor. As long as she continued to vote in at least one election every four years, they would not delete her from the voter rolls. No wonder there are so many dead people still voting.
That was not all; she failed to file her income taxes, and we received IRS notices for her.
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That’s interesting. Try contacting Secretary of State, who (at least where I live) is responsible for voting integrity.
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Trump is clearly the better choice on immigration, trade, and foreign policy, and Trump will (and should) win. It doesn’t make sense to not vote when one candidate may not be ideal but the other is orders of magnitude worse.
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Norm,
Here’s an update from Oregon on the riots in Portland.
A couple months ago, the rioting started at the federal courthouse. After more than a month, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler gave a press conference and blamed the violence on President Trump. He said the federal marshals were provoking the “protestors”. Surprisingly, a local reporter corrected him and said the Trump only sent the feds in after 35 days of riots.
The “protestors”, as Mayor Wheeler calls them, have done the following:
• Assaulted local cops and federal marshals
• Covered the federal courthouse with graffiti from ceiling to floor, left to right
• Thrown bricks and large stones the size of your fist at law enforcement
o One officer was hit in the helmet and got a concussion
o The feds have covered all the windows with plywood
• Thrown incendiary devices at and into the courthouse:
o Legal fireworks
o Illegal fireworks
o Molotov cocktails
o Various burning items
• Broken down barriers set up by law enforcement
• Marched through neighborhoods after midnight threatening locals
• Attacked multiple innocent civilians
A Trump supporter was recently murdered in cold blood. Apparently the culprit had been picked up at a previous protest with a gun. He should have been arrested then.
That is the problem. The Multnomah County DA will not prosecute these people.
Previously, the Oregon State Police was brought in to replace the feds. When their 2 week assignment was finished they said they were done and not going back. They blamed the Multnomah County DA for not prosecuting the rioters.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown said local sheriffs have agreed to deploy and stop the violence. That is false. They refused.
In a statement, Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts wrote:
“Had Governor Brown discussed her plan with my office, I would have told her it’s about changing policy not adding resources. Increasing law enforcement resources in Portland will not solve the nightly violence and now, murder. The only way to make Portland safe again, is to support a policy that holds offenders accountable for their destruction and violence.”
https://www.kptv.com/law-enforcement-agencies-refuse-to-send-deputies-into-portland/article_9a2d9f14-ebf2-11ea-9b9c-9bf968851267.html
Protestors have now protested in Mayor Wheeler’s apartment building demanding his resignation. That is one thing we agree on. However they also just tried to set his building on fire. This thing is way out of control.
If Trump is elected, I’ll thank the “Ted Wheeler Brigade” of the “Rioters For Trump”.
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